People can access the network from where they want; they are no longer limited by the length of the cable

Some places and vehicles have a Wireless LAN hotspot. This lets people access the internet even outside their normal work environment, for example in a restaurant or train.

Setting up a wireless LAN can be done with one box called wireless access point or wireless router. This box can handle many connections at the same time. Wired networks require cables to be laid. This can be difficult for certain places.

Today, most technologies used for WLANs use Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing. This means that several frequencies are used at the same time. Signals that are close to each other, but that belong to different channels do not disturb each other, as they use different coding schemes. Depending on the material used, it is possible to cover between 30 metres and 100 metres indoors; outdoors, the range is about 100-300m, if there are no obstacles.